What FC Cincinnati Needs to Improve for RSL Win

As FC Cincinnati looks to Friday night’s clash versus Real Salt Lake, Alan Koch’s squad understands they must improve key aspects of their game in order to take all three points.

Cincinnati (2-3-2) finds themselves hovering mid-table in a balanced Eastern Conference after a defeat to league-leaders Los Angeles Football Club.

“To keep them [LAFC]
to 1-0 until the 90th minute was a testament to the defensive work we did out
there,” said Victor Ulloa. “It was unfortunate to give up that first goal on a
set piece, something that we can control.”

“We created
chances,” Ulloa continued. “We created clear chances and you have to put them
away. I think we could be talking today about walking away with a point, but we
take the positives and we grow.”

The attitude that
FCC must acknowledge and move on from last Saturday’s shortcomings is prevalent
throughout the team.

“I thought we were
very unfortunate not to get a result,” said Kekuta Manneh. “We had our chances
and we didn’t take them. It’s something to build on.”

The next game week occurs at a time in which both Cincinnati and Real Salt Lake reside on the fringes of a playoff picture that is just starting to emerge. Real Salt Lake (2-4-1) travels to Nippert Stadium looking for two wins in a row following a home victory against Orlando City SC. The opening run of games has not been kind to RSL overall, as they have fallen to 2019 title-contenders such as Seattle Sounders, D.C. United, and LAFC.

“They’re a tough
team that works really hard,” Victor Ulloa said. “They are going to come in
here and try to get a result away. So, we have to get back to our winning ways
at home and give the fans what they deserve and that’s three points.”

Although not expected to earn a result away to LAFC, arguably the hottest team in MLS, the same cannot be said for the upcoming home matchup against RSL. Alan Koch’s side should attempt to dictate the tempo against a Real Salt Lake side that often concedes possession.

“It’s interesting,”
Koch said, “because when I say possess the ball better, people criticize it and
say, ‘You’re a transition team. Why are you trying to possess the ball?’ But
when we do possess the ball, then it doesn’t give the opposition a chance to
try to break us down.”

“Yeah, of course we’re going to focus on transitioning moments because we’re good at those when we attack,” Koch continued. “We want to reinforce being good in attacking transition, but I do think that if we can possess the ball more, it takes away from the team that we play against too.”

Determining the
appropriate balance between possession and counterattacking football is
essential in ensuring Koch can set up his team to succeed.

From there, it is up to Cincinnati’s attacking threats to be clinical in front of goal.